It was a lovely summer morning, perfect for the first Ladies Day Out for the women in my family. From all over Virginia, we gathered for brunch in a private dining room at a historic hotel in Richmond. Our holiday was the newest twist on our family’s tradition of enjoying the pleasure of one a
Faith in Focus
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Perennially Hopeful
I sat out back with the newspaper early one summer morning, reading about current events. Most stories dealt with death and destruction. Headlined were such vices as avarice, adultery, casual dishonor—all sins not acknowledged as such, but openly condoned. (Ironically a full-page ad urged pare
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Why I Won’t Cope
Recently I received a flyer in the mail inviting me to a clergy workshop that promised to help me "cope creatively." It’s being conducted by a friend of mine, a priest of faultless intentions, and will be given by a presenter known nationally as an expert on what the brochure calls &
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Standing in the Doorway
I was standing in the doorway, looking at the clear blue sky on an icy cold January afternoon, when she came up the stairs. I hadn’t seen Irene in over six years, but I had been thinking about her a lot recently. She was coming up from a diocesan meeting my parish was hosting in the church hal
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Heaven and Earth Are Full…
How many times have I uttered those words, sung those jubilant words at Mass, and paid scant heed to their meaning? I’m a poor singer, so mostly I just fake them, scarcely letting a sound escape from a tight mouth and heart. I’ve probably concentrated more on the hairdo of the woman in f
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As God Intended
Several years ago, while I sat at my desk one morning at Continuum, an AIDS agency in San Francisco where I served as executive director, the phone rang. The caller identified herself as a secretary to the First Lady and asked if I would come to the White House for a community leaders’ forum l
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Waiting in Silence and Light
When I was little, Saturday nights were often spent sleeping over at Grandmom’s house. I loved these Saturday nights; she was the perfect grandmom, bubbly and doting and willing to spoil us with Lucky Charms cereal until we were sick. She was also a devout Roman Catholic, so Sunday mornings al
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Be Awake
It came as a surprise to find myself compelled to reflect on consciousness and mortality. It happened because I went to a Zen retreat by accident. But then, though there are surprises in this life, we may collaborate in bringing ourselves to the place of surprise—to the brink, or to the unders
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The Light Under the Basket
A reading from the letter of Paul to… began the lector; but instead of following St. Paul’s epistle, I opened the parish bulletin and read, once again, a mother’s letter of gratitude to her fellow parishioners and the outreach program they support. The woman was not a single mom, but a